Staff Reporter.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep lost on her return from a doping ban against Paula Badosa in Miami.
Halep raced through the first set but struggled to maintain those levels, losing 1-6 6-4 6-3.
“I would rate it as a special day, honestly, considering the period I had. Playing so well, feeling so well on court, feeling so well outside of the court with so many people that are very nice to me and giving me the love, I would say that this day is going to stay very special for me,” Halep said. “Of course, I had many results in the past, big results. But here it’s something more than tennis, it’s something personal. I really love to see that people are appreciating me beside tennis and beside everything that happened.”
The 32-year-old Romanian was playing for the first time since being handed a four-year ban for breaching the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) had reduced the ban to nine months earlier in March.
She had been provisionally suspended in September 2022 after testing positive for the use of roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.Roxadustat is an anti-anaemia drug which stimulates the production of red blood cells in the body.
Halep has always maintained her innocence and said the accusations were “scandalous”.
While her case was partially upheld, Cas ruled Halep “on the balance of probabilities” had not taken roxadustat intentionally.
With the French Open running between 26 May and 9 June, Halep is looking to build up time on the court.She won the French Open in 2018 and lifted the Wimbledon title in 2019.
Badosa, who has been ranked as high as No. 2 but dealt with back problems lately, advanced to a second-round matchup with two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, the current No. 2. That match is scheduled for Thursday.
The man Sabalenka has been dating, retired hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, 42, was found dead of an apparent suicide shortly after midnight Monday, Miami police said. They said foul play was not suspected.